Getting Started with SmartDocs for Content Managers

This article is designed to help you get started using SmartDocs by providing you with the necessary steps to implement SmartDocs.

Step 1: Download, Install, and Activate SmartDocs

To download the latest version of SmartDocs go to our Download page and follow the download prompts.

IMPORTANT: Close all Microsoft Word and Excel applications before installing SmartDocs.

Once the download is complete, double-click the SmartDocs Installer to begin the installation process. Follow the steps in the SmartDocs Installer to install SmartDocs on your computer – the installation process takes less than one minute on most computers.

After the installation has completed, close the SmartDocs Installer and open Microsoft Word. If the installation was successful, a SmartDocs tab will display in the row of Microsoft Word tabs.

Follow the Steps Below to Activate Your SmartDocs License

Open Microsoft Word.

Select the SmartDocs tab.

Click the About drop-down menu.

Select Activate SmartDocs.

Select Activation Code.

Enter your Activation Code.

Complete the Full Name and Email Address fields.

Click Activate SmartDocs.

Step 2: Configure SharePoint Server for SmartDocs

Use the SharePoint Configuration Guide to help you create and configure one more SmartDocs repositories on your SharePoint server. If you have access to SmartDocs University, you can use the SharePoint Configuration course to learn how to configure your SharePoint server for SmartDocs.

A SmartDocs repository is used to store the reusable content for your team. A SmartDocs repository resides in a SharePoint site and consists of the SharePoint lists and libraries shown below.

Reusable Snippets

Reusable Variables

Conditional Tags

Usage Tracking

An organization can create as many SmartDocs repositories as needed. Typically, your organization will start with one SmartDocs repository. You can then add more SmartDocs repositories as needed. Each SmartDocs repository has its own configuration, metadata, and security model applied.

Step 3: Set-up Your Reusable Snippet Metadata

SmartDocs allows you to configure metadata for your reusable snippets on a per SmartDocs repository basis. Metadata is used to classify, categorize, and organize your snippets, so that writers can easily find snippets to reuse in their documents. View the articles in the SmartDocs Repository section of our Knowledge Base on the SmartDocs Support Center website to learn more. If you have access to SmartDocs University, you’ll find everything you need in the Metadata Configuration course to learn how to configure your metadata within your SmartDocs repository.